is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. , the city had an estimated population of 48,458 in 188703 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 138 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Gosen is located in an inland region of north-central Niigata Prefecture. The

Agano River The is a river in the Hokuriku region of Honshu, Japan. It is also called the Aga River or the Ōkawa River in Fukushima. The source of the river is Mount Arakai on the border of Fukushima and Tochigi. It flows to the north and meets the Ni ...

flows through the city.

Surrounding municipalities

Akiha-ku, Niigata is one of the eight wards of Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. , the ward had an estimated population of 76,086 in 29,843 households and a population density of 800 persons per km². The total area of the ward ...

** Agano ** Sanjō **

Kamo The name Kamo may refer to the following: Places Japan (Note: ''kamo'' ( 鴨), is the common word for ''duck'' in Japanese, but the following names do not necessarily mean ''duck'' and are not necessarily written with that character.) * Kamo, N ...

Aga Aga or AGA may refer to: Business * Architectural Glass and Aluminum (AGA), a glazing contractor, established in 1970 * AGA (automobile), ''Autogen Gasaccumulator AG'', 1920s German car company *AGA AB, ''Aktiebolaget Svenska Gasaccumulator'', a ...

** Tagami

History

The area of present-day Gosen was part of ancient Echigo Province. Under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

Japan, parts of what is now Gosen were under the control of Muramatsu Domain, a minor

feudal domain A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

ruled by a junior branch of the

Hori clan Hori may refer to: Ancient Egypt *Sewadjkare Hori, late 13th dynasty Pharaoh, also known as Hori II *Hori (High Priest of Osiris) Son of Wennenufer and High Priest of Osiris during the reign of Ramesses II (19th dynasty) *Hori I (High Priest of Pta ...

. The town of Gosen was created within

Kitakanbara District, Niigata is a district located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. As of July 1, 2019, the district has an estimated population of 14,025 with a density of 373 persons per km2. The total area is 37.58 km2. Municipalities The district consists of only o ...

with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The modern city of Gosen was established on November 3, 1954, from the merger of the town of Gosen with the village of Sumoto, Kawahigashi and Hashida (all from Kitakanbara District). On January 1, 2006, the town of Muramatsu (from Nakakanbara District) was merged into Gosen.

Climate

Gosen has a humid climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Gosen is 13.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1886 mm with September as the wettest month.The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around1.3 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Gosen has declined steadily over the past 40 years.

Government

Gosen has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

city legislature of 20 members.Gosen City Assembly official home page
/ref>

Economy

The economy of Gosen is primarily agricultural, with production of

cut flowers Cut flowers are flowers or flower buds (often with some stem and leaf) that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is usually removed from the plant for decorative use. Typical uses are in vase displays, wreaths and garlands. Many gardene ...

, peonies, ''satoimo'' and kiwi fruit as important crops.

Education

Gosen has eleven public elementary schools and four public junior high schools operated by the city government. There are two public high schools operated by the Niigata Prefectural Board of Education in the city. The prefecture also operates one special education school.Gosen Prefectural Special Education School home page
/ref>

Niigata University is a national university in Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It was established in 1949 and has its major origins in Niigata Medical College (established in 1922) and in Niigata Higher School (established in 1919). It is one of the largest Jap ...

's Department of Agriculture has a field test farm in Gosen.

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

Banetsu West Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, and Niitsu Station in Akiha Ward, Niigata, Niigata Prefecture. The name "Banetsu" is taken fro ...

* - - - -

Highway

* – Gosen PA *

Local attractions

* * Sakihana_Onsen_and_Agano_River_Isabella_Bird_Sep2021.jpg,

and Sakihana onsen Muramatsu park Sakura.JPG, Sakura in Muramatsu Park

Notable people from Gosen

Yoshifumi Kondō was a Japanese animator who worked for Studio Ghibli in his last years. He was born in Gosen, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. He worked as an animation director on ''Anne of Green Gables'', '' Sherlock Hound'', ''Kiki's Delivery Service'', '' Only Yes ...

(anime director, character designer) *

Kazuya Tsurumaki Kazuya Tsurumaki (鶴巻和哉 ''Tsurumaki Kazuya'') is a Japanese anime director. He was born on February 2, 1966, in the city of Gosen, located in the Niigata Prefecture. He is the protégé of Hideaki Anno, and a longtime animator at Gainax. ...

(anime director) *

Kimio Yanagisawa is a Japanese manga artist. His real name is pronounced the same way, but is written with the kanji . He graduated from Niigata Prefectural Muramatsu High School two years prior to Yoshifumi Kondō. After graduation, he attended Wakō University ...

(

manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...

)

References

External links

Official Website

English page
{{Authority control Cities in Niigata Prefecture